Assetou Coulibaly had a headache for two weeks by the time her friends convinced her to seek medical help on May 10.
That eventually led to an experience at Royal Jubilee Hospital, where she fears her being Black played into nurses disregarding her pain and concerns, to the point where she suffered a panic attack.
She acknowledges that ER workers are extremely stressed due to the pandemic, but says her experience highlights the hesitancy Black women feel when it comes to seeking medical treatment.
sa国际传媒淲e find the medical system to us is what cops are to Black men,sa国际传媒� she said.
When she called a clinic about her symptoms, a doctor told Coulibaly to go to the emergency ward immediately, fearing she could have meningitis and be seriously at risk.
Already wary of hospitals, Coulibaly heeded the urgent advice. After an eight-hour wait in the ER with her head still pounding, she was in a consultation room with a doctor who she says seemed more concerned about her condition than triage staff.
Originally from Mali and having lived all over the world, Coulibaly grew up seeing doctors who were immersed in treating BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of colour) patients. She says the care from those doctors contrasts with her treatment at Royal Jubilee and elsewhere in Canada.
sa国际传媒淭hey didnsa国际传媒檛 have those biases because theysa国际传媒檝e been exposed and they have learned from those people,sa国际传媒� she said of her initial contacts with practitioners.
After she received a CT scan at RJH, two nurses entered Coulibalysa国际传媒檚 room and said they were going to draw blood and put an IV in simultaneously. Coulibaly warned that her small, finicky veins usually require a specialist to find. She said the nurses, however, unsuccessfully jabbed her several times in each arm in search of a vein, which left her in pain.
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She expressed her pain to the nurses, but said they seemed sa国际传媒渙ffendedsa国际传媒� by her reaction. The pain made her get stressed, which compounded when the nurses wouldnsa国际传媒檛 answer her questions about the IV medication she was about to receive, she said. As the meds flowed in, Coulibaly felt an sa国际传媒渋mmensely weirdsa国际传媒� sensation, causing her to panic.
sa国际传媒淚 said, sa国际传媒榊ou guys didnsa国际传媒檛 warn me about anything.sa国际传媒� I was freaking out and they were just standing and looking at me with a complete look of apathy,sa国际传媒� she said.
Now panicking, she muttered that she wanted her mom.
sa国际传媒�(The nurse) said, sa国际传媒榳ell since shesa国际传媒檚 not here yousa国际传媒檙e just going to have to deal with it, arensa国际传媒檛 you,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� Coulibaly said. sa国际传媒淚 just kept crying, I was like sa国际传媒業 want to go home, I want to go homesa国际传媒� to myself and she was like sa国际传媒榃ell if you go home nobodysa国际传媒檚 going to give you care.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�
The nurses left as Coulibaly started to calm down, but she was still shaken. Over an hour passed and nobody checked up on her condition. After multiple failed attempts of getting staffsa国际传媒檚 attention, Coulibaly left for home as she started to panic again.
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sa国际传媒淚 was told to come here because a medical professional who assessed me told me he was concerned for my well-being, because he was concerned I would die if there was something wrong,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚f I have to die, I will die peacefully in my bed, not here.sa国际传媒�
She frets her race played into the care she received.
sa国际传媒淚 got an unbiased diagnosis over the phone because the doctor didnsa国际传媒檛 know what I look like,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淥nce I was at the hospital, I was disregarded.sa国际传媒�
She hopes nurses and hospital staff receive up-to-date training on racial bias and how to treat BIPOC patients who may be wary of the medical system. A statement from Island Health didnsa国际传媒檛 answer whether its medical staff receives racial bias training.
Island Health doesnsa国际传媒檛 discuss individual cases due to patient privacy. Their patient care quality office fields and investigates negative experience complaints.
sa国际传媒淭his process allows Island Health to constantly evaluate and improve our services, systems and policies,sa国际传媒� the statement said, adding theysa国际传媒檙e sa国际传媒渃ommitted to cultural safety and humility, anti-racism and anti-oppression are part of our core work and we are working to improve every day.sa国际传媒�
Coulibaly has submitted her experience to the office.
Island Health says its Indigenous liaison nurse program exists because sa国际传媒渃olonialism and systemic racism have significant negative impacts on the health of Indigenous peoples in British Columbia.sa国际传媒� It did not say if similar programs exist for non-Indigenous BIPOC patients.
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